Posted by UK vinyl sales are on course to reach their highest levels in three decades, according to a new study.
What did you do during lockdown? Well, if you’re anything like Clash, you supported record shops online, and fired up Discogs for rarities.
It seems there’s a lot of us out there, with vinyl sales in this country set to reach fresh new levels in 2020.
Combined vinyl sales in the UK could break £100 million this year, the highest since 1990 – when big sellers included New Kids On The Block.
Drew Hill, managing director of Proper Music, the UK’s biggest independent distributor of vinyl and CDs, comments:
“We have seen 250% growth from the bottom of lockdown to where we are now. I thought it could be catastrophic for the industry but during lockdown the kind of people buying records also probably went to a lot of gigs. They can’t do that so it seems fans are spending the money they used to on going to gigs each month on records.”
Sales by volume are also set to increase in 2020, and it’s interesting to note which formats are surging.
The vinyl resurgence is continuing, while sales of cassettes have rocketed – the tape now contributes £1 million to overall figures.
Sadly, sales of the compact disc are crashing, with year on year sales plunging 30% – no doubt due to the high street being shuttered for prolonged periods.
The top sellers on the vinyl charts include a hefty dose of classics. Currently out in front are Oasis, with the latest re-issue of their seismic second album ‘(What’s The Story) Morning Glory’.